Cover Letter, DA Form 1, Plans, Owners Consent, Coastal Environment Assessment · OPW21/0049

Noosa Spit Coastal Protection Environmental Assessment                                                     3
Introduction




                    July 1982                             July 2010                      June 2020

                                     Figure 1-1     Nearmap imagery of Noosa Spit
         Because of the shifting nature of the sands and tidal currents, seagrass or other marine vegetation
         is not present. A Fish Habitat Area is declared to the north-west of the area to be dredged, as shown
         in Figure 3-1. The Noosa River system, including the area to be dredged, are listed as a Nationally
         Important Wetland. The sand shoals at the river mouth are also known to support a number of
         shorebird species (Noosa Integrated Catchment Association Inc, 2020).

         The Noosa Spit Recreation Reserve (the Spit) is a reclaimed sand dune system near the mouth of
         the Noosa River. The northern half of the Spit adjacent to Dog Beach has an actively eroding
         foreshore bounded by dune woodland. A geotextile groyne has been constructed at the western end
         of the beach for sand nourishment and a rock wall has been constructed at the eastern end for
         foreshore protection. This highly dynamic foreshore zone is dominated by woodland species with
         sparse marine plants along the foreshore. The southern half of the Spit fronting lower energy
         estuarine waters supports intertidal wetlands comprising mangroves and saltmarsh, however this
         area is not expected to be impacted by works.

         A search of the riverbed did not identify any benthic habitats i.e. seagrass beds.

         The sand banks within the Noosa River are also known to provide habitat for several species of
         migratory shorebirds.

         Sand taking and placement will occur on Unallocated State Land (USL), adjacent to Lot 114,
         MCH839107, which is a reserve for park and recreation purposes.

1.3      Alternative Options
         A Shoreline Erosion Management Plan (SEMP) was prepared to identify design options to achieve
         the project objectives. The following options were proposed to mitigate erosion issues at Dog Beach
         (BMT, 2019):

         • Option 1a – Sand plug at either end of Dog Beach and shoreline nourishment

         • Option 1b – Sand plug at the southern end of Dog Beach and shoreline nourishment

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